Squeaky Green: La Chanh Nguyen’s Living Bath Mat

Generally speaking, bath mats aren’t particularly exciting, but when we start talking about a living bath mat — literally made of plant life — admittedly, people tend to take notice. The very inventive La Chanh Nguyen of Baolam Design has come up with more than a few innovative and often nature-inspired creations, but perhaps the move inventive is the “Moss Carpet” made of what’s evidently an “imputrescible foam called plastazote.” In plain terms, that’s a latex foam that’s primarily vegetable-based. In terms of structure, the mat is comprised of smaller circular cells, each of which hosts a bit of moss, which grows slowly but steadily, thanks to the humidity of the bathroom and the extra water it receives when being used as a bath mat after a bath or shower. While we’ve never heard of such a thing before and some might find it strange, we have to applaud Nguyen’s ingenuity when it comes to finding an unprecedented way to introduce vegetation into the home. Who needs potted plants with products like this on the market? Well, okay… perhaps plenty of us do. You have to admit, though: this is one “green” home accent (in more ways than one) that you’ve probably never even dreamed of.